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Sarah Palin 2012

So, does this mean Sarah Palin is considering an independent run for President? After all, we stopped hearing from her when she announced that she would not run in the Republican primaries. Last week there were rumblings about Palin possibly running as an independent.

It’s obvious that Palin loves attention, especially when she is getting ready to fire up her PAC again.

Otherwise, what is her problem with the Obama Christmas card again? Did I miss something? Her rant is a non-issue in my opinion.

The front of the card shows the Obamas’ dog, Bo, sitting in a very Christmas-like setting, with a fireplace decorated with wreaths and red ribbons, and a table with a poinsettia plant and presents. “From our family to yours, may your holidays shine with the light of the season,” reads the inside of the card, which is signed by the Obamas (including Bo).

“It’s odd,” she said, wondering why the president’s Christmas card highlights his dog instead of traditions like ‘family, faith and freedom.'””Even stranger than that was his first year in office when the Christmas ornaments included Chairman Mao,” Palin said. “People had to ask that it be removed because it was offensive.”

Palin was referring to when a right-wing blog posted a grainy photo, allegedly of an ornament on the White House Christmas tree in 2009 showing a reproduction of Andy Warhol’s “Mao” portrait. Media Matters reported that the tree was decorated by community groups, not the White House.

Palin said a majority of Americans prefer “American foundational values illustrated and displayed on Christmas cards and on a Christmas tree.” With regard to the card, she added, “It’s just a different way of thinking coming out of the White House.”

“I go on the offense like most Americans do and say ‘No, we’ll have Christ back in Christmas and hopefully it won’t offend you,'” said Palin in a November 2010 Fox News appearance.

Palin fueled speculation on her future plans Monday after previously saying she would not run for the 2012 GOP nomination for president. “It’s not too late for folks to jump in,” she said on Fox Business Network. “Who knows what will happen in the future.”

Update: But since Fox News has brought up the subject of Christmas cards, perhaps we should take a look at the official Fox Business Network Christmas card this holiday season. Here’s one, via New York Times media reporter Brian Stelter:

That’s a pair of foxes roasting the NBC peacock over an open fire—which, for you non-Christians out there, is an oft-overlooked aspect of the of the story of the first Christmas. And via reader Jason Sparks, take a look at Ronald Reagan’s White House Christmas cards. They’re nearly identical to Obama’s, except there’s no puppy. “Family, faith, and freedom” are, presumably, represented by the antique furniture, fireplaces, and tacky lighting.

Sarah Palin will not run for president in the next election cycle, according to multiplereports.

“After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for president of the United States,” saidPalin in a statement on her decision.” As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision. When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.”

During a radio interview on the “Mark Levin Show” after the news broke, Palin was asked if she’s considering running for president as an independent candidate. In response to the question she said, “I would assume that a third party would just guarantee Obama’s reelection, and that’s the last thing the Republican party can afford. So the consideration for a third party is not there, no.”

How’s this for an impressive Republican lineup?A likable former governor and TV personality; a two-term governor with an unmatched fiscal record; another former governor with the best education-reform credentials in the country; a rising star in the House; and a photogenic senator from the heartland.

They are Mike Huckabee, Mitch Daniels, Jeb Bush, Mike Pence, and John Thune. The Republicans sitting out the 2012 nomination battle would themselves make a formidable field. Indeed, more formidable than the actual entrants. The hottest place to be in Republican politics right now is sitting on the sidelines.

Sarah Palin hailed Donald Trump’s claim that he has investigators in Hawaii looking into President Obama’s birth, but stopped short of bolstering the notion that he wasn’t born in the U.S.

“More power to him!” Palin told former New York district attorney Jeanine Pirro on her Fox News show on Saturday, referring to The Donald’s claim that he hired probers to look into the issue.

“I appreciate that Donald wants to spend his resources in getting to the bottom of something that so interests him and many Americans,” she said.

“He’s not just throwing stones from the sidelines, he’s digging in (to it), he’s paying for researchers,” she added.

But when Pirro asked Palin’s view of the issue, the former Alaskan governor walked a careful line on the issue.

“Well, you know, I think that he was born in Hawaii because there was a birth announcement put in the newspaper,” she said. “But obviously there’s something there that the president doesn’t want people to see on that birth certificate…he’s going to great lengths to make sure it isn’t shown. And that’s kind of perplexing for a lot of people.”

Several news outlets and independent groups have examined the “birther” issue and dismissed it as unfounded.

Oprah spoke to Parade magazine for its latest issue, and one of the subjects that came up was a potential run by Sarah Palin for the presidency.

Oprah has dodged the question about her thoughts on Palin before, most notably in an interview with Barbara Walters, where she pointedly refused to answer whether she thought Palin was qualified. This time, she said the public would “fall in love” with Palin if they watched her reality show. The interviewer then asked if the thought of a Palin run scared her.

Oprah’s response? “It does not scare me because I believe in the intelligence of the American public.”

When Sarah Palin returned to Iowa on Thursday to promote her new book, America By Heart, the former Alaska governor and possible 2012 presidential hopeful found herself caught off guard when confronted by reporters about whether she plans to mount a bid for the White House in the next election cycle.

The unanticipated run-in between Palin and the press went down at a local Walmart in the Hawkeye State. With supporters of the conservative star on the scene, a crew from CNN cut straight to the chase and asked if she was any further along in her decision-making process about a presidential run. Jim Acosta and Bonney Kapp report:

The country music that Palin’s handlers had blaring at the signing station presumably to drown out such questions suddenly stopped. We asked the question again.”Am I doing interviews?” the former Alaska governor asked. “I thought I got to talk to the nice people. And where’s our music and where’s our good enthusiasm?” she persisted.

We repeated the question. “Not any closer. No,” she responded.

Since breaking onto the political scene during the 2008 presidential campaign, Palin has developed a reputation for maintaining an icy relationship with the mainstream media — or the “lamestream” media as she often puts it. Despite embarking on a book tour packed with public events, the Tea Party favorite has reportedly made attempts to dodge the press along the way.

Nevertheless, the CNN crew managed to hit Palin with one more question during Thursday’s book signing. The topic: an apparent shot taken by rumored 2012 presidential hopeful Mitt Romney the night earlier on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno.

“What did Governor Romney say on the ‘Tonight Show’?” responded Palin when asked about the criticism in question, which seemed to take aim at her decision to resign as governor of Alaska.

President Obama sat down with Barbara Walters for a holiday weekend special set to air next Friday called A Barbara Walters Special: A Thanksgiving Visit with President and Mrs. Obama and it seems that Ms. Walters was able to generate draw out his thoughts on the 2012 campaign. Though he says that he’s not giving much consideration to the coming presidential run, he is instead focusing on being “the best possible president.” And, he said, he certainly isn’t focused on a potential challenge from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

When asked specifically if he thinks he can beat Sarah Palin in 2012, the president told Walters “I don’t think about Sarah Palin.”

“Obviously Sarah Palin has a strong base of support in the Republican Party and I respect those skills,” Obama said. “But I spend most of my time right now on how I can be the best possible president. And my attitude has always been, from the day I started this job that if I do a good job and if I’m delivering for the American people the politics will take care of itself.

“If I falter and the American people are dissatisfied, then I’ll have problems,” he said.

The interview, which also included first lady Michelle Obama, covered a wide range of topics including the recent events in North Korea, the latest controversies over TSA screenings in airports, the “shellacking” his party took in the 2010 midterms, the economy, and, of course, Thanksgiving traditions.

The full interview, “A Barbara Walters Special: A Thanksgiving Visit with President and Mrs. Obama,” will air Friday, Nov. 26 at 10 p.m. ET.

On a day with increasedbuzz over Sarah Palin’s potential decision to announce a run for president in 2012, a video released Wednesday provides a clear indication that if Palin lacks anything necessary to embark on that mission, it isn’t confidence.

In an interview with ABC News scheduled to air in full on December 9, Barbara Walters asked Palin, “If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama?”

“I believe so,” Palin responded.

“I’m looking at the lay of the land now, and … trying to figure that out, if it’s a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family, if it’s a good thing,” Palin said in the segment, set to be part of Walters’ “10 Most Fascinating People” of 2010.

Her response is no huge surprise. Most candidates who would be willing to pour millions of dollars and thousands of hours of work into a campaign presumably can be expected to believe that they could end their quest in victory — especially a contender with a strong following, like Palin. Nonetheless, the former vice-presidential candidate’s response appears to be the most expressive of her still undecided, yet increasingly anticipated, 2012 presidential run.

Earlier Wednesday, the New York Times Magazine released a profile that seemed to insinuate similar aspirations for Palin. In her interview with Robert Draper, the author of the piece, Palin spoke candidly about her need to prove herself to voters and to add more substance to her political persona. Talking to the New York Times, a symbol of Palin’s commonly degraded “lamestream media,” may be a sign that Palin is trying to nip some of her most common criticism in the bud.